Lot 1082
Barber's Lovely "Sailor's Head" $10 Pattern. Proof 63. The famous Barber design struck in copper, gilt. Reeded edge. P-1588 (as R-6). The obverse has a head of Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY using a font without serifs. Her gown is draped over her shoulders, giving the appearance of a sailors collar, hence the popularized name given by numismatists of "sailor's head". Liberty's hair is tied up in a bun, with a lovely draping ribbon hanging below the bun. Liberty's face looks very much like the Liberty nickel adopted in 1883. On the reverse, we see the familiar twenty cent erect eagle, enlarged to fit a coin of this diameter. The eagle is surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA above and TEN DOLLARS below, and in tiny letters above E PLURIBUS UNUM and on a tiny ribbon below IN GOD WE TRUST. The ensemble is extremely pleasing to the eye and the coin exudes all the elegance of the Victorian age. This pattern is simply die engraving at its best.
The mirror fields are pristine, they show only minor hairlines and are aged with antique toning on both sides. Barber had a little trouble with the first two stars which show light recutting on some of the points, but otherwise the design elements were expertly placed and engraved. Certainly one of the most stunning and desirable coins in this collection, and with only two known that were struck in gold, this choice gilt piece is the only realistic way to obtain this pattern design.
Boldly struck throughout, with a partial knife edge around the extreme edge, and carefully preserved. Liberty's cheek is absolutely pristine. A glass will note minor hairlines in the fields, but these are unimportant and the rule on coins of this grade. There are some curious lumps on Liberty's neck, most likely these are from the gilt process or this coin was struck from slightly rusted dies (unlikely). This is a coin that any collector will always love, long after the sale is forgotten.
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| Realized $5,980 |
